Here we go then. You know the drill. We beg, borrow or (shock horror) buy all the cases that are advertised as suitable for a specific smartphone and then examine them in detail, finding out the flaws before you part with your hard earned cash. And if you can suggest a specific case which isn't mentioned here then please get in touch at slitchfield{at}gmail.com.

Case and Pouch N82 'Leather Phone Case v4'

You may remember that Case and Pouch's N95 case was a favourite of mine and this, their generic N82/N73/N81 offering, is too. What I like about this design is that it keeps things simple. It's a perfect fit for the N82, the catch is magnetic (so no noisy Velcro openings or press-stud hit-and-miss closures), the N82 is easy to extract and the belt clip is superbly snug and slimline.

In fact, my only complaint would be that the magnetic catch isn't quite as strong as on their N95 version, but it's still secure enough for day to day use. Style rating: 6/10 Protection rating: 8/10 Usability rating: 10/10, Total: 24/30

Krusell Classic for N82

From the sublime to the (usually) ridiculous. Sometimes known as their 'Cabriolet' case and with previous examples being somewhat horrible fits, I was apprehensive about this Krusell offering. Luckily it's a reasonable fit this time around, even if it is so tight a fit that zipping your N82 in is hopefully a one-time operation - SIM or battery swappers, steer clear. The idea here is that the N82 stays in situ and you unclip it from your belt every time you want to use the phone. To cope with camera functions, the back of the case detaches, as shown.

Unfortunately, although the N82 Classic is still a better fit than usual, it's still not anywhere near perfect. To my eyes it simply looks messy, the fit over the keypad and d-pad isn't great, it's simply the wrong solution for the flush-fronted N82. Having to unclip from your belt is a two-handed operation (a hassle) and there's the security angle of having the full N82-majesty displayed to all observers ('Hey, I've got something work nicking'), too. Style rating: 5/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 3/10, Total: 17/30

Mobile Fun Silicone Case N82

Dramatically minimalist, this 'stealth' case is what you'd stick on your N82 to go to a rock concert or night club. No labels, no logos, no keypad backlighting allowed through. Install a black-ish theme on the N82 and you'd be good to go almost anywhere. It's a good fit too, with all button hoods fitting exactly over their physical counterparts.

The downsides here are that the silicone coating, while perfect for providing a good grip and repelling water, is an utter dust attractor, as you can possibly tell from the photos. And, obviously, you have to know your keypad like the back of your hand, since you can't see any keypad labels. Infrequent texters need not apply. Style rating: 8/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 5/10, Total: 22/30

Noreve N82 Tradition

As usual, there's no faulting Noreve on sheer quality. The Tradition is an in-situ flip design, immaculately designed and made in high quality leather. The cutouts are perfectly aligned and the camera flap work well.

BUT.... and there's always a 'but' in these reviews... like Proporta, Noreve are still struggling with their belt fixings. The old generation, bulky plastic rotating mounts just aren't 'cool' and make the case too protruding (from the waist), in my opinion. Worse, the stiff unlocking button makes getting your N82 off a two-hand job, which isn't good. Pretty, though. Style rating: 9/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 6/10, Total: 24/30

Krusell Performer M

Now this is more like it from Krusell. The Performer holster is tough (neoprene), it's smart, there's a fabulously strong magnetic catch, it's got a nice strong and slim belt clip.

There's one problem though. Because this is a generic case, Krusell have sensibly equipped the bottom of the case with an elastic-powered retainer. In other words, you shove in something the length of the N82 and, with a little effort, the bottom strap pulls out from the case rear, to accommodate the phone. Which is fair enough, except that you have to apply quite a bit of pressure to do this, making it effectively a two-hand job to reinsert the N82. Plus, the pressure usually means that several of the N82's keys get pressed in, so you have to use keylock on the device every time you put it away. Style rating: 9/10 Protection rating: 8/10 Usability rating: 5/10, Total: 22/30

Krusell Vertica S-wide

Ah, the famous Vertica (used to be called the 'Verticalic'). It's been home to my N93, my E70 and many others in its lifetime. It's a simple leather holster and is shown as N82-compatible on the Krusell web site. Unfortunately it's simply too large - or rather the N82's too thin, and ends up rattling around...

Krusell, as with quite a few other case manufacturers and accessory suppliers, really need to be more careful when stating which case is suitable for which phone, I reckon. For completeness sake: Style rating: 7/10 Protection rating: 5/10 Usability rating: 6/10, Total: 18/30

So current winners in this round-up (which may get added to as time goes on!) are the 'Noreve' and 'Case and Pouch' cases, with a joint top score of 24/30.

Other cases we acquired for review include the Proporta N82 Alu-leather, which is being redesigned with a new belt clip and so we opted to include this in the round-up at a later date.

And then there was Mobile Fun's 'Ducati Corse Vertical Leather Small', which was another case of bad categorisation by the supplier and didn't fit the N82 at all. Ditto their 'N82 Crystal Case', which also didn't fit! Rafe wasn't impressed (it was on his credit card!)

Can you suggest other N82 cases worth including here?

Steve Litchfield

PS. All cases will be offered as door prizes at the upcoming Autumn AllAboutSymbian pub meet.

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